To Snare a Fox
by Amarielah
Summary: Kurama goes to Los Angeles on business, where Wolfram and Hart decide that he can be of use to them, and make him an offer he can't refuse. Angel, suspicious of his adversaries' intentions, decides to intervene. Crossover with Angel the Series.


Summary: Kurama goes to Los Angeles on business, where Wolfram and Hart decide that he can be of use to them, and make him an offer he can't refuse. Angel, suspicious of his adversaries' intentions, decides to intervene.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Angel the Series.

A/N: This is me taking a break from writing my original stuff. I love how compatible the Buffyverse is with the world of Yu Yu Hakusho, so I've been wanting to write a crossover for a while. It's kind of bad that I'm adding yet another incomplete serial to my long, existing list; but this was begging to be written. Timeline-wise, this takes place during season 3 of Angel, and significantly post-series for YYH.

Warnings: Unbetaed. Please tell me if you spot any typos, grammatical errors, or awkward sentences.

**To Snare a Fox**

Los Angeles was at once foreign and exciting to Kurama, who had never been anywhere in Human World besides Tokyo and a few places in the Japanese countryside. He had been sent here on business; his step father was trying to expand into the American market, and had figured that the West Coast was a good place to look for new acquisitions. Kurama was a good negotiator with a sharp tongue, and knew how to read people, so he had been the perfect choice for the expedition.

Unfortunately, not everything had gone according to plan.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Minamino, that you were lured here under false pretenses."

The woman before him was an attorney; a rather attractive human woman with sharp features and sharper eyes. And she was smirking ever-so-slightly, like she knew that she had the upper hand.

"And what pretenses would those be, Miss--?"

"Morgan," she said. "Lilah Morgan. Would you like some coffee, Mr. Minamino? Oh wait, where are my manners. I'm sure that, being Japanese, you'd prefer some tea."

"Answer my question, Miss Morgan. My patience can only be stretched so far."

She leaned forward on her fancy mahogany desk. The man that Kurama was supposed to be undergoing negotiations with--one Urashima Kazuki--had told Kurama that he would meet him with an attorney, to finalize the details of their contract. What he had gotten instead of an Asian-American man was a Caucasian woman. Kurama should have trusted his instincts. It was strange, being asked to come directly the attorney's firm; but Kurama was unfamiliar with American culture, and had assumed it to be a practice foreign to him. The firm was called _Wolfram and Hart_, and Kurama was willing to bet that every office in the rather impressive building had a similarly expensive mahogany desk. It seemed like that type of law firm: successful, efficient, and corrupt.

Which brought him to his immediate concern: why did they want to meet with _him_?

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to test the patience of the infamous demon thief Kurama. I never really did get the hand of gardening; plants just don't get along with me."

Kurama did not allow his surprise to show on his face. "If you know of my true identity, then you know that I am not to be taken lightly."

"I assure you, Mr. Kurama--I am not taking you lightly." She reached up to brush some hair out of her eyes. "Which is why I think I should tell you upfront: killing me would be a severe error of judgment on your part."

"And why is that?"

Morgan put a finger to her cheek, as if she was thinking very deeply about something. "Your human mother," she said, "She and your stepfather live in such a lovely house. And your dear stepbrother is working so hard for that law degree. A wholesome family like that--well, it would be such a tragedy if anything were to happen to them, don't you think?"

Kurama's demon energy spiked, although the woman didn't seem to notice. "I do not take well to blackmail, Miss Morgan."

"Again, I am well aware of the fact." She opened one of her desk drawers and withdrew a set of files. Flipping one of them open, she said, "It says here that the first person--well, _demon_--who tried to use your family against you was killed viciously with supernaturally-endowed flora. Granted, it was in a back-alley demonic martial arts tournament. But, according to the rules, you didn't _have _to kill him." She sighed dramatically. "We actually lost one of our clients in that tournament. I believe the name Nobunaga Sakyo is of some significance to you."

Kurama's eyes narrowed. "How do you know these things?"

"I'm just going to cut to the chase, Mr. Kurama. As you have no doubt been able to deduce, we here at Wolfram and Hart are very well informed; we even have some contacts who work for your old boss Yomi."

"And what do you want from me?"

"Naturally, you being a master thief and all, we want you to steal something. Once we have what we want, you'll be free to go. Heck, we'll even throw in that merger your stepdad's been pining after so much. Not a bad deal. And hey, you may even enjoy it." She withdrew a set of papers from the file in front of her. "Here you go," she said, handing them to Kurama. "Everything you need to know."

He took them and scanned over their contents. This law firm wanted him to obtain some kind of holy manuscript, by the looks of it, from an underground chamber located in the wilderness just outside of Los Angeles proper. It had been created, and presumably enchanted, by a species of youkai that he had personal experience with--though why this particular clan had chosen to set up camp in California was beyond him. He looked back to Morgan. "Since you know so much about me, you should also know that I am on a...probation, of sorts. If the authorities in Reikai catch wind of this, there is a good chance that they will trace it back to you."

"Nice try," said Morgan. "But that isn't going to be a problem here. California is outside those powers' sphere of influence. As a matter of fact, this state is largely god-free, for a number of reasons. All that you need to know is that your probation doesn't extend here, so you're free to steal as much as your demonic heart desires."

"Not if I have anything to say about," said a new, male voice. Kurama turned to see that it belonged to a tall, broad-shouldered man.

Morgan pinched the bridge of her nose. "Come on, Angel--could you at least have the courtesy to knock. I'm in a very important meeting."

The man--Angel--walked over to her desk, but stood a fair distance from where Kurama was seated. "Yeah, well--I'm not in a courteous mood." He put his hands on Morgan's desk. "Now why don't you tell me about what you and your goons are up to, so I can deal with this nice and quick."

"Hmm," said Morgan, as if considering his proposal. "You know, that doesn't really appeal to me." She focused her attention briefly on Kurama, saying, "You know what you have to do, Mr. Kurama, so feel free to leave." She looked back to Angel. "As for you: either leave now, or I can get security to_ make _you leave. The choice is yours."

"Or I could just kill you," said Angel, casually.

"Now, now, Angel. We both know that isn't going to happen."

Kurama took that as his cue to go, and walked out of the office with papers in hand. Unsurprisingly, Angel followed him shortly after, and ran to catch up just as Kurama was stepping into the elevator.

"Hey," said the dark-haired man, once Kurama had pressed the button labeled 'G'.

"Hello," replied Kurama. "You are not human." Kurama figured that, in a place like this, that was not all that uncommon.

"Yeah," he said. "That makes two of us." Angel shifted in a way that might have been intimidating to a human, but to Kurama it just looked like a very awkward movement. This man, for all that he was large and probably strong, gave the impression of being somebody who was not very comfortable in his own skin. Kurama wasn't sure what to make of that.

"I take it you followed me because you wish to discuss something."

"Listen," said Angel. "I don't know why you're working for Wolfram and Hart. But, if you do what they want they've hired you to do, you're going to have to go through me. And I'm dangerous."

"I have my reasons, Mr. Angel. I will tell you now--I do not wish to make an enemy of you, but something important to me is at stake. As shameful as it is, I cannot afford to turn them down." The elevator pinged. "I must also inform you that I too am very dangerous, and it would be unwise of you to stand in my way." Kurama didn't wait for Angel to reply, walking swiftly to the car that he had rented for the duration of his visit to America.

He had some planning to do.

__

"Okay," said Cordelia. "So we finally have a one-up on the evil law firm. But how does that change anything? Don't get me wrong--I want to see Wolfram and Hart taken down as much as the next not-evil person--but we have other things to worry about."

"Yeah," agreed Gunn. "Like Holtz and his merry band of vampire slayers."

"And Connor," said Fred. "There are still a whole bunch of freaky occult groups who want to use him as their apocalyptic prophecy-child."

"And let's not forget the fact that we still need money, from _clients,_ in order to feed and clothe Connor," added Cordelia.

Angel knew all of this already--especially the stuff about Connor, who was sleeping quietly in his crib. But he knew that Wolfram and Hart was up to something--something that involved him (and, more importantly, Connor). He needed to find out what it was. "That's why we're going to have a plan," he said.

Wesley looked skeptical. "And what plan would that be, seeing as we have no idea who it is we're dealing with, or what it is he's after?"

Angel pinched his nose in frustration, wracking his memory for what little he had managed to catch of Lilah's conversation with the demon in question. "He was Asian, and Lilah called him 'Mr. Kurama'. She mentioned something about him being able to steal to his heart's content."

"Were there any distinguishing features?" asked Wesley.

"No," replied Angel. "He looked completely human. The only strange thing about him was his hair color."

Wesley frowned, and opened his mouth to speak, but Lorne piped in before he had the chance. "Kurama...that name rings a bell."

"That's a start," said Angel. "Can you do some digging, Lorne? You know, ask around with some of your contacts."

Lorne didn't seem to be particularly keen on that idea, but, as always, he said, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

Angel knew that he was doing the right thing. Somehow, that didn't stop the feeling of impending doom that was twisting in his stomach.

__

The next day, Lorne came into Angel's office looking very troubled.

"So what's the deal?" asked Angel, looking up from his paperwork.

"Not good." said Lorne. "Kurama is infamous in one of the Asian hell dimensions. Apparently he's some kind of fox-demon."

"Fox-demon?" asked Angel, quirking an eyebrow slightly. "Must be an Asian thing." He remembered elemental demons from his time in the Far East, and ninja-like clans. But the animal themes were new to him.

"Yeah. But that's not the worst of it. They have a name for him in that particular hell dimension: the Thief King Kurama. He's known for being involved in some really risky heists, just for the fun of it."

Angel frowned. If this guy was such a powerful demon, just what was Wolfram and Hart holding over him to ensure his cooperation?

And, more importantly, what were they having him steal?


End file.
